“The Accidental Plague Diaries” by Andrew Duxbury

The Accidental Plague Diaries: A Covid-19 Pandemic Experience

Andrew Duxbury
Singular Books (2021)
ISBN: 978-0997283143
Reviewed by Lily Andrews for Reader Views (11/2021)

In “The Accidental Plague Diaries,” Washington-born author and geriatric physician Andrew Duxbury tells his experiences through the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the entire world and left doctors, scientists and world superpowers agape. Through eye-opening journal entries of 18 months since the pandemic hit, the physician opens up on what it entailed being a doctor working in a hospital, including the challenges he and many other medical professionals encountered during this period.

Everyone has a story to tell about how the Covid-19 pandemic affected them. Author Duxbury delivers a raw, unfiltered, and entirely honest real life commentary from the eyes of the sometimes forgotten caregivers. Duxbury struggles to come to grips with the effects of the pandemic on his own personal life, even as he attempted to save lives.

The book transverses across various emotions, such as confusion, resilience, and, most times, hope. “The Accidental-Plague Diaries” is informative and brilliantly written. The diction too fits for this type of genre. I loved how the author’s tone is continually encouraging in spite of what he shares with readers.

The writing is concise and succinct. Along the way, Duxbury shares his personal life through flashbacks, including his budding acting career and losing his two husbands. It is almost inevitable not to notice the author’s courageous and compassionate spirit across the chapters.

Readers will be prompted to reflect on their own experiences during the pandemic. One cannot help but appreciate the little things we normally take for granted upon reading this book. Indeed, this is a thought-provoking text.

I loved the consistency in the journal entries which made the reading flow with grace. For this reason, I rate the book 5 stars. Medical practitioners will find “The Accidental-Plague Diaries: A COVID-19 Experience” by Andrew Duxbury a great resource guide. Readers too with no medical background will have no problem navigating through this thoughtful tome as it avoids too many medical terms. Further, the book serves as a reference book for dealing with future challenges. Moreover, it is a reminder of an uncertain time that the world fought a pandemic and the efforts undertaken to deal with the glaring effects of the plague.